Wongala - On the Explosives Milk Run Part I

[Sea_dog]

I should mention at the start that this is regarding the Wongala that was built by Choy Lee in 1957 for Tucker Shipping, not the old Wyatt Earp (which also went by the name Wongala at one stage).

Going through my late fathers papers, I have come across an article he wrote for a maritime publication some years back and thought some might be interested to read some of the experiences he had sailing in "The Mosquito Fleet". The child he mentions that was born in 1957 whilst Wongala was listed as overdue was - me.


On the Explosives Milk Run
I joined the Wongala on the 17th of may 1957 as a deck boy having paid off the River Glenelg on compensation in Brisbane, and with the vagaries of the pick-up prior to the roster system, it was the only way to get my sea time in, and what a difference - 15" of freeboard when fully loaded to her marks, a crew of 9, and a registered tonnage of 194 tons. At that time the ship had to anchor off Altona (Victoria) and the explosives were brought out by lighter and loaded by the crew under the supervision of a Captain Perrie from shoreside. He was a stickler for safety and you had to wear canvas overshoes whilst in the hold and if a case was dropped into place there was one warning, offend again and that was it for that person for the rest of the loading. In later times the Waterside Workers Federation took over the loading which increased the time (they had to be brought from the city by launch), and consequently the cost.

From the day the first case of explosives was loaded to the last case being unloaded in New Zealand meant an extra 5/- per day danger money, well worth having in those days as I think the actual rate for a deck boy was about £20 per month at that time plus 2 hours overtime per day whilst at sea. The day was made up of 2 hours on the wheel and 6 hours off with 2 hours day work plus the two hours overtime - weather permitting. The accommodation on Wongala was exceptionally good for the time with single berth cabins for all hands, very different to both the Merilyn and Argonaut II two more Mosquitos that I sailed in later. The crewing was organised through F.H. Stephens (another name which has disappeared from the business world, " Speed it through Stephens").

On departure from Melbourne it was an average voyage of 10 days across the Tasman and I cannot recall any crossing that was not rough. The Shipping notices of the day often noted "sheltering", quite true except that we were never able to find any shelter between Wilsons Promontory (Victoria) and North West Cape on the North Island of New Zealand. As soon as the Port Phillip heads (Victoria) were cleared it was usual to set all sail and they remained set for the voyage with innumerable call outs to adjust the trim for the changes in the wind. The Master or Mate would then take over the wheel to enable all hands to man the sheets, this did have a tendency to steady the motion of the ship considerably and also helped with the fuel consumption.

There was one particular voyage when I would have to say we were extremely concerned, a very strong gale took its toll of our rigging with the radio aerial being lost and the sheet horses on the main and fore booms carried away leaving the sails totally unrestrained which meant that we had to wait our chance to get to the topping lifts and drop the sails on to the hatches without getting knocked over the side as she rolled, as you can imagine the timing was vital as unrestrained booms swinging from side to side belting the masts backstays each time could not be allowed to continue. It was on the same voyage that the master noticed that with the heavy seas being shipped over the bulwarks one of the sheets had been washed off its belaying pin and was streaming aft down the starboard side, if it became entangled in the screw we were in diabolical trouble as there was no way that Wongala could make way under sail for the remainder of the voyage with just a staysail & mizzen still serviceable (but which had been dropped to preserve them), and as we had lost the aerial our radio was down with no opportunity to rig a jury. The master, Leo Meyer, decided that it must be made fast without delay and that he would keep her head into the sea while this was carried out. From the wheelhouse, which was two decks above the main deck, the seas did not appear to be all that high although extremely angry but it was a quite different story once out on the deck where they appeared to tower over you.

I have never been frightened at sea with this one exception, I was brought up with the sea & ships having followed three generations of Foreign Going Masters but i have to admit that this was a vastly different kettle of fish. With her head to the sea the deck was bucking around considerably but at least she was not shipping any seas over the bulwarks. Unfortunately the ships head fell off and she broached broadside to with the result that the deck went under and the seaboots acted as a sea anchor, it was fortunate that I had taken the backstay in the crook of the elbow whilst hauling in the sheet. After making the sheet fast I went up into the galley to thaw out & I will freely admit to anyone that I was shaking like a leaf and took some little time to revert to normal. I fully realise that in comparison to rounding the Horn in a square rigger this would have been a holiday but nevertheless it was interesting.

I must say that this was one of the occasions when we were very pleased to have the 500 BHP Polar two stroke under us, it may have rattled everything like a biscuit tin and was the exact opposite to the slow revving 248 BHP four stroke that was in the Merilyn but it got us there. On arrival at Waitawa in New Zealand, which was our first port of call with a full load, we found that we had been listed as overdue and unfortunately that had been advised to Melbourne where my wife was in the process of having our eldest son, she was quite used to us being late and perhaps sheltering but this was the first occasion in which we had been unable to advise our situation but the message awaited me that she had had our son three days previously and I hope she was relieved to find that we had got there after having been advised that we were missing.

On another occasion when 300 miles off North West Cape we were overtaken by a Queensland cyclone and making 1.5 knots under staysail & mizzen with the engine slow ahead to assist steerage. The Weather Bureau suggested we alter course N.N.W for a day after which we should get a change. The Wanganella, then some 30 miles from us, had apparently sailed through the centre of the storm and fortunately after 15 hours we received the change, set all sail and proceeded at 10.5 knots. On arrival at Waitawa the press came down to the vessel to take photos of the damage, but unlike the voyage mentioned previously, they were amazed to find we had sustained no damage, whereas the Wanganella had a lot of damage and three passengers sent to the hospital, on conclusion of the voyage on arrival at Melbourne we were only three days late.

I have referred to the very strict supervision of the loading at Altona, so I have to mention the way it was unloaded in New Zealand. Farmers would come down to the explosives jetty at Waitawa which was 40 miles east of Auckland, usually wearing hob-nailed boots, and would throw the cases from one to the other to load the trucks to go to the magazine, the crew loading on to trays in the hold, the only Melbourne rule that was obeyed was “No Smoking”. I would loved to have Captain Perrie there to see it. After unloading at Waitawa we proceeded back over the top and down the West Coast to Greymouth or Westport depending on the sea over the Bar, then it would be back through the Cook Strait and down to Dunedin, back to Wellington and finally Nelson. The reason for this roundabout route was the restrictions in the various ports on the maximum amount of explosives allowed on board, e.g. Wellington – 800 cases, Nelson – 400 cases. The maximum load out of Melbourne was 15,000 cases of gelignite, dynamite, monobel etc and 800 cases of detonators.

Part II to follow